Childhood stunting and cognitive effects of water and sanitation in Indonesia.

Abstract

Close to 100 million Indonesians lack access to improved sanitation, while 33 million live without improved drinking water. Indonesia is home to the second largest number of open defecators in the world, behind India. Repeated exposure to fecal pathogens, especially common in areas where open defecation is practiced, can cause poor absorption and nutrient loss through diarrhea and poor gut function, leading to undernutrition, growth stunting and irreversible impairment of health, development, learning and earnings - the effects of which outlast a lifetime. Using data from a sample of over six thousand children in the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS), a household socioeconomic panel repres..